The sample included a group of 30 who had been sexually abused as children and a group of 20 who had not been sexually abused. Inpatients were interviewed using the Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines, Revised (DIB-R). The DIB-R is a semistructured interview schedule of questions covering major areas of borderline pathology. It was hypothesized that women sexually abused as children would score significantly higher on the DIB-R than women not abused with respect to affect, cognition, impulse action patterns, and interpersonal relationships. Results showed that women sexually abused as children scored significantly higher than those not abused on the total DIB-R and three of its four section scores. Women sexually abused as children were much more likely to have a definite BPD diagnosis than women not abused who exhibited symptom patterns indicative of diagnoses other than BPD. An unexpected finding was that women sexually abused as children were more likely to have eating disorders than those not abused. It was determined that treatment for borderlines should explicitly address and validate the consequences of CSA on etiology and course of symptoms. Study limitations are noted, as well as future research directions and clinical implications. 37 references and 2 notes